Faded White Lines
by more-than-melody
Summary: She’s always there to remind him why he’s doing all of this. When he thinks that maybe the price isn’t worth what they’ll gain in the end, she reminds him of what there is to keep fighting for. RoyxRiza, Royai.


Disclaimer: FMA isn't mine.

Song: Long Hallway With A Broken Light - Thriving Ivory

* * *

_White lines that never fade  
Burn deep with everyday  
And I need to know_

They both have their scars. Some of them are visible, many are not.

She has a scar on the back of her left hand from a brush with a serial killer several years back.

He has a scar on his right shoulder from a bullet that just managed to hit him. The source of that bullet died moments later, with her bullet in his head. She hasn't forgiven herself for being a fraction of a second too late in drawing her gun. She says that it was lucky for the both of them that the other man was a poor shot, and that she'll do better next time. He says that if he were able to do his job right, there wouldn't be a next time.

Neither of them is perfect, and they both blame themselves for it. There are things they think they could have prevented if they had been just a bit quicker, or a bit smarter.

_You live here in a photograph  
No sound and no regrets  
And I need to know_

They both know they're lucky. When they think about it, there is no way either of them should have survived all that has happened to them. They are invincible. Nothing can hurt them, not permanently at least. When Hughes dies, that illusion is shattered. Reality comes crashing in and they realize that there is a good possibility that one of them, or both of them could die before they accomplish everything they have set out to.

When they look back on the past, there are things they wish they hadn't done. They both wish they could erase the events in Ishbal from their mind. Still, when it really comes down to it, they know that their actions in the past have brought them to where they are today.

_Heart-stained but never weak  
You lay down alone but you don't mind  
Questions that never breathe  
Your face on a wall that I can't shake_

Without words, they know there is something between them that goes deeper than friendship. He sees it in the fact that she would give her life for him without a second thought, and nearly has several times. She sees it in the fact that she is the thing that stops him from avenging Hughes's death. If not for how it would have affected her, she has no doubt that he would have killed Envy without a second thought.

They know all of this without uttering a single word.

He goes out with other women, though it isn't because he actually feels anything for them. Some of them are informants, others are just a way to pass the time. When he's sitting next to them in the crowded theater, he thinks of her.

She spends her evenings alone. Just her and her dog. It doesn't bother her in the least, because she knows that after he parts ways with that evenings date he'll call her. Sometimes it's because he needs a ride home - the girl has inevitably run off with the taxi cab driver. Sometimes it's because his date stood him up and he has an extra ticket to the theater. She always turns him down of course, and he ends up giving the tickets away and going home. On rare occasions she agrees to meet him for coffee because one of his informants has given him valuable information he needs to share with her. Either way, she knows he will call. When she hangs up with a polite goodnight, she lets down her hair and falls asleep, with just her dog for company.

_I'm walking on air, close to you  
Through a long hallway with a broken lightAnd I, I need to know  
If you're still alive_

He has never questioned her reasons for following him. He doesn't really want to know the answer. He can't bring himself to ask.

She's always there to remind him why he's doing all of this. When he thinks that maybe the price isn't worth what they'll gain in the end, she reminds him that Hughes has already given his life for this cause. She reminds him that if he gives up now then that sacrifice will have been worth nothing.

She is what keeps him going.

* * *

Geez! Why am I having such a hard time writing what I want to write? *kicks computer* I didn't even bother finishing the song for this one, becuase it's so far from what I was intending to write. Will most likely try this one again.


End file.
